Letters from Hambidge | No. 3
Did you know mushrooms could be neon?
Dear reader,
Today’s letter is later. I’m back at Rock House and we just had dinner. Now, I’m waiting for the sweat lodge to heat up, and writing this to you.
Since the first two days here were spent getting acclimated to the Hambidge campus and getting to know my fellow residents, I wanted to spend the beginning of my day today cozied up in my studio, Brena. I hadn’t yet really felt settled in the space and ready to work, so that was today’s priority.
I started the day with coffee and some stretching, then I spent the next hour or so with the I Ching practice and a tarot spread. It was raining, and my studio is nestled on a hill in the forest, so the ambient sound was perfect for a soft, contemplative morning. I put on Julian Lage’s Speak to Me quietly in the background as I read and wrote. I had yogurt with berries and honey in my studio for breakfast, and don’t ask me why, but it was the most delicious bowl of yogurt I’ve ever tasted.
Around 2pm I wanted to get out of the studio and into nature, so I decided to take my first solo hike. About 10 minutes into the hike, the rain came back and was with me the entire time. I decided to brave through it — how often do you get to walk through the forest in the rain? I felt like I was in the Fellowship (lol). I started humming the Shire theme (I was told you’re supposed to whistle or sing out loud when hiking alone because…bears). I saw some wild mushrooms and an interesting set of chairs. Scroll to the bottom to see some photos.
After the hike, I finally felt ready to dive into research for my project. I had a productive few hours - although it was punctuated with a wave of melancholy. The imposter syndrome rears its ugly head:
Why am I here? Is this really happening? Do I really deserve to have all this time to myself just to be in process?
More on that later, I’m sure.
I read three scripts today, because script reading has to do with the project I came here to work on specifically. Have I told you about my Hambidge proposal? I don’t think I’ve shared the whole thing with you all. I’ll include that in my letter tomorrow - probably behind a paywall (because IP and such).
I think that’s all for my letter today. Thank you for reading <3
xx,
jordan
(By the way, dinner was amazing tonight. Rice and beans and stuffed peppers and roasted broccoli. YUM.)
(Also, i am editing this on my iPad and cannot for the life of me figure out how to make these images smaller, sorry!)
